Chasemarsh Fluff
by PriestessAmy
Summary: There just isn't enough Chasemarsh out there, so here you go
1. Amen

Victoria Chase. She was so brave. Sometimes, she would apparently decide not to even bother with a towel while snagging a shower. Kate couldn't comprehend it. Such things were meant for private moments, only people who meant something to you ought to be able to see... those. But every now and then when she went to the dormitory shower to clean herself off, there she would be, slender, tall, pale, beautiful. Kate would avert her eyes and hurry into one of the stalls to hide, not undressing herself until she was certain she couldn't be seen. She didn't know much, but she knew there was nothing terribly special about Victoria's body. Just bones, muscle, and flesh. Toned flesh, still glistening, practically sparkling... She shut her eyes tight and continued showering, but the image was becoming burned in her mind, though she had only seen her for a second.

The second time it happened, she had been caught staring. Victoria said nothing, only giving her that knowing smile, the one that said she could practically read your mind. She had even gone so far as to turn so that Kate could get a better look before heading back to her room with a friendly smile. That chest, those things, they were becoming harder to forget.

The third time it happened, she thought she had imagined Victoria's cheeks going just a little red as well. She returned to her room, wishing for something, anything to distract her. She heard her phone go off and hoped that it was Max wanting another tea date. But her eyes widened in surprise to see a text from Victoria Chase herself. It requested – no, demanded – that Kate come to her room immediately. _Oh God, forgive me. I accept whatever punishment you see fit to bestow upon me for my transgressions._ She continued praying as she marched down the hall to the blonde girl's room. She knocked. _Even Victoria is one of your children, Lord. It was wrong of me to gaze upon her lustfully. I will do whatever I can to make it up to her._

The door opened to reveal Victoria, wearing a pair of shorts but still topless. She glared at Kate, but with a glimmer in her eye. "Come on then. If you're so eager to stare, I'm sure you're eager to do other things too."

Kate released the breath she'd been holding. "Amen..."


	2. With Extreme Regret

The afternoon sun came barging in through Kate's hospital window, heating the room, and while any other time it would have made her happy or even want to pray, this just made her want to hide. She had been reading, but the super-cheery sunlight just depressed her, so she closed her book, set it aside, and curled up under the insufficient blankets provided by the hospital. She wanted darkness and rain, weather to match her mood. When Max visited, she felt a little better, but her mother had just left to go back home and she was back to feeling miserable again.

She was actually just starting to drift off when she heard a soft sound comfing from the direction of her door, behind her. She turned over and saw something that had been slipped under her door. "What...?" She slipped out of the bed ungracefully, practically tripping up over the blankets, and just barely managed to reach the door and throw it open to see Victoria a little ways down the hall trying to sneak out. She thought about just letting her go, but her voice called out of its own volition "Victoria!"

The blonde turned around, and Kate saw the telltale signs of someone who had been crying and tried to hide it. Kate knew the look well, mostly from her mirror. For a girl that always had something to say, Victoria looked totally lost for words. Resigned, Kate motioned with a slow head-tilt for the other girl to join her. She picked up the note and returned to her spot on the bed, resting up against the pillows. With surprising bravery she opened the little note and read it quietly to herself while Victoria walked in, sitting down, head hanging in shame.

" _Kate,_ " she began, reading the letter aloud as though Victoria didn't know exactly what it said. " _I'm sorry. I have no excuses. I have no explanations. I only have my..._ " She stopped and looked at Victoria in surprise, the letter dropping from her hands. She stared at Vic, and Vic stared at her lap.

" _My love..._ " Victoria could barely manage a whisper, and it was followed soon by a pathetic whimper and sniffling noise.

"So, this is, what, a sick joke you were trying to play?" Kate's words and tone were vicious, but she regretted them immediately. This wasn't her, and she had seen Victoria's face.

"Please, d-don't stop reading. I'm here now, there's not much else I can do"

" _...my love. If I could go back in time, I would go to that party, smash that... um... gosh-darn camera... and rescue you from that stupid... freaking... party. I would hold you until the drugs left your system, and never let you go._ " There seemed to be more, but Kate wasn't sure she could finish. She could hardly believe such a thing was in her hands. Was this the same Victoria?

"The thing is, I'd be freaking out right now, waiting for you to tear into me. But you won't. You wouldn't dare. You almost..." her voice cracked and broke and she had to bite back a sob, much to Kate's surprise. She'd never heard this from Victoria before. "And it was me that did that. You would be well within your right to quite literally kick me out of this room. But you won't. Because you're Kate Marsh, the most perfect being to walk this earth."

Kate still felt weak, and she was just barely able to reach out and press a single finger to Victoria's lips. "That's sort of the pot calling the kettle perfect, isn't it?" She was trying to play this smart, not letting it get out of hand like it was threatening to do. But she saw the way Victoria looked at her, like she was some heavenly being. She hadn't seen that look in anyone's eyes before, and it was difficult to understand. She didn't feel beautiful. She didn't see an angel when she looked in the mirror.

Her finger was still pressed to Victoria's lips and she pulled it back quickly. "You'll be back tomorrow, I take it?" The blonde nodded silently. "I won't say a word." She watched as Victoria stood up and headed for the door. Something tugged at her heart and she called out for her. "Wait!" Her visitor was understandably surprised and confused. She fiddled with the bedsheets and smiled slightly. "It's really boring here. If you wanted to... show up earlier or bring some books or... write me another letter... I wouldn't object"

When the room was empty, she resumed reading the letter, aloud still, as if to ensure herself she wasn't imagining this. " _I would tell you how wonderful and amazing and brave you are. There would be no rooftops. Just love and kisses and late nights and early mornings. With extreme regret and severe embarrassment... Victoria_ "


	3. Irreplaceable

**[A/N: This one came from a tumblr anon pulling a number from an OTP challenge. All I really had to do was write about them getting a pet together. Needless to say, I went overboard.]**

Victoria walked into the apartment after a long day of classes and immediately knew that something felt 'off'. She moved into the living room and saw Kate with Alice on her lap, petting her gently, looking distressed. _Oh no..._ They knew this moment was coming, but that didn't mean that either of them was ready for it. Alice had been a member of their family ever since their Blackwell days. Now they were grad students with plans for the future. And the old girl had been getting more and more tired lately. Both of them noticed it, neither of them talked about it, and now it was almost too late.

Alice's breathing was labored. Her nose no longer twitched like a miniature metronome, her ears almost constantly flat against her back. Victoria took her seat next to Kate and wrapped an arm around her. "What are you thinking?"

Kate sighed and hugged Alice a little tighter against her chest. "Th-The vet... sa-said..." So long as she didn't have to talk, Kate could go forever looking stoic and strong, but even now she tended to break down the moment she began talking. It had been forever since Victoria had seen this level of sadness in her girlfriend's face. "That it's time..."

Victoria nodded sagely. While Kate would need all her strength for the next few days, the truth was that it hurt her too. Alice was like... She knew it was stupid, but Alice was almost a bit like their daughter. What had initially been just Kate's pet was now theirs together. And now... now...

No, it would have been wrong to act like this wasn't affecting her too. She held Kate and they sobbed together for a while. They watched cartoons and eventually found the strength to make plans to go back to the vet and have poor Alice put to sleep. She was getting sicker, and it would have been evil to keep her alive much longer.

Alice was cremated and Kate insisted on getting a tiny urn for the ashes. They held a service and everything, and their beloved friend was given a place of honor on their mantle.

Months passed before the subject of a new pet ever came up. Kate was understandably hesitant about it, but the apartment tended to feel rather empty without an animal around. Even Kate could admit as much. It still took a good deal of wistful sighing to finally convince her to come along with Victoria to the pet store. "Look, we don't have to buy anything, I just wanna check out our options. We're not getting a replacement or a new Alice. We could get a bird, or a cat, or something more interesting – a chinchilla or a hedgehog?"

They went together by public transit, and their hands remained tightly entwined the whole time. Although she was freaked out, once they actually entered the shop, Kate's mood did begin to lighten up. Victoria went for the obvious and brought her girlfriend toward a cage filled with kittens. She cooed and playfully stuck a finger through the bars, but Victoria noted that she wasn't exactly enthralled by them.

The birds were met with a tad more excitement, and Victoria was particularly delighted to watch the other girl have a singing contest with a pair of cockatoos. The chinchillas soft fur was a huge plus, but it turned out to be an expensive purchase. Victora was becoming a little bit concerned that they wouldn't ever find the right pet.

But it seemed that Kate had found it, though... she wasn't so sure she agreed. "Check it out!" Victoria spun around and saw her girlfriend holding a white ball of scales and looking incredibly pleased with herself. She gave an embarrassing squeak and jumped just a little. "Isn't she just the cutest?" Victoria shuddered and backed away a few inches from Kate. But she really did look so happy, so excited, so in love with the bright white snake coiled up in her arms. "Oh, sorry, um, I didn't mean to scare you, I just... look at her." She carefully lifted the snake's face up toward Victoria and she looked more closely at it. She tried to see it through her girlfriend's eyes. It had wide eyes, a long snout, and it seemed to be almost smiling nervously. "Her name is Susan, I.. think it's a reference to an old Chinese legend? Oh, Tori, please! I promise, they told me she's really snuggly and she tends to be pretty shy but she clearly likes you. Just like me~"

"Dammit, Katie" Victoria said with a defeated sigh. Only one face in the entire world could make the blonde willing to bend over backwards. "You are getting **really** good at making those puppy dog eyes on command... Yes, she's perfect, and she's all ours" She kissed her forehead and gave 'Susan' a gentle stroke along her head as well.

The snake turned out to be quite a big purchase, once they also got an appropriate tank, decorations, and a supply of frozen mice to feed her with. But Kate's eyes shined so brightly, and she never once took her eyes off Susan. The price, the slight creepiness, the fact that they would have to feed her frozen rodents... none of it mattered. Victoria would adjust, and no doubt she would learn to become just as comfortable holding the ball python as Kate.

No matter what challenges came their way, the two survived. They had bought furniture together, hunted successfully for an apartment, and now they had come through the dreaded "buy an animal together" test unscathed. Victoria pondered the ring hiding in her room, and their upcoming graduations. Perhaps it was time...


	4. A Temporary Friend

**[A/N: Another tumblr anon, asking for younger Kate and Victoria lost in a theme park together. Initially they asked for Disneyland, but I don't know the first thing about Disney, so I made it a little more generic. Plus, this way, I could throw in an extra reference. I imagined them to be roughly ten in this fic, hopefully they're believable enough.]**

"Hey..."

Katie sniffled pathetically and wiped at her eyes with her arm, completely unaware that the shrill voice was directed at her. "Hey. **Hey!** " Only as a hand landed on her shoulder and shook her gently did she seem to come around and actually noticed the lanky blonde girl roughy the same age as herself trying to snap her out of her panic. "Will you quit sniveling!?"

Katie could only barely suppress a whimper, unsure how to even deal with this strange girl's harsh tone, mostly because it was almost, like, as if she wanted Kate to cool off because she was worried about her. Or something. It was a little hard to think about anything right now. "My-My family..." There was a split second where Katie thought her pathetic crying would get her in trouble, as a vicious smirk crossed the blonde's face. But just as quickly it was gone, replaced with a serious nod.

"Lost your folks, huh? Yeah, they do that sometimes. Look, it's really not a big deal. You'll find them eventually."

She nodded slowly and looked about. "My parents... and sisters... Will you help me? Please?" The blonde looked so displeased, and yet so curious – a look Katie didn't even realize existed. She reminded Katie of girls from her school, the kind who usually made life difficult. She wouldn't have been surprised if she got turned down.

"Very well. But for god's sake, keep a lid on the weeping, okay? This is a theme park, try to have a little fun." Before Katie knew what was what, her hand was grabbed and she was yanked forward in some random direction, as though the mystery girl already knew where her family was. "It's Tori, by the way."

"K-Katie. And please..." She wanted to tell Tori not to take the lord's name in vain, but somehow this seemed like a bad time to go parroting a church lesson to some stranger. "Never mind. Where are we going?"

"Well, we gotta get somewhere we can see more of the park, and be seen if we find your family. There's this roller coaster over here that goes up really high." Another whimper pushed its way up Katie's throat as Tori tugged her along down toward the hulking beast. She had never ridden one of these things before, and she wasn't sure now was the best time to start. But if she kept being a spoil-sport, perhaps this Tori girl would stop helping her.

They reached the bottom of the hill and Tori was immediately racing for the back of the line when Katie called out to her. "Hold up!" She stood beside the height chart for the ride with an apologetic smile, as it showed that she was clearly too short for it. "I-I'm sorry... I can tell you wanted to ride it..."

Tori looked downright appalled and offended and crossed her arms angrily. "I didn't care about the stupid roller coaster! I was just trying to help you find your family! C'mon!" Further proving how mercurial she was, the blonde grabbed her hand and Katie was once again yanked off further into the park.

Their path of travel brought them past The Whirlwind, a much tamer ride, and one that Katie and her whole family was fond of. She slowed her speed and Tori joined her, looking at it with a little shrug. "Maybe they're just riding that? We should go check..." Of course, getting closer, it was still difficult to tell who all was in the line and who was already on it. "Maybe... we could get in line? Um, just in case of course."

"Well... It's worth a shot I guess..." Katie giggled softly and walked with Tori to stand at the end of the rather long line. The way it snaked around, there was always a chance she would see her parents. But Katie also found that she was eager to get on the ride after her big freak-out. And she liked hanging out with someone her own age. This was someone who normally wouldn't have given her the time of day, and here they were holding hands. Suddenly it dawned on her, far far later than it should have...

Tori was basically the same age as her, give or take a year maybe. So where was her family? Did they let her go wandering off in this big park by herself? Or had she lost her parents too? Katie now wondered idly if Tori's entire act of helping her wasn't at least partly a facade. That thought was comforting, and it endeared the blonde to her a bit more, to think that she was actually just as scared and lonely – though she wouldn't dare admit as much.

It was cute. She gave the slender hand a slight squeeze as they made their way to one of the cars, buckling in and pulling the bracing bar in place. The ride did little more than spin in a big circle, then again in reverse. But there were slight bumps up and down and lots of centrifugal force and now she was pressed up against the blonde and laughing brightly as though she wasn't still separated from her precious sisters and her parents. While the ride lasted, it was great, but as it came to a stop and they climbed off, woozy and dizzy, the frustration began to return.

Tori, for all her pouty faces and brusk demeanor, seemed to catch on to this quickly and dragged her off again before she had a chance to think. "Come on! I bet they're at the midway!"

"What? Why would you think that?" Katie huffed as she stumbled to catch up with the other girl. Tori stopped on a dime and spun around ,eyeing her down, and for the first time Katie actually saw the hurt laying there behind her brave mask.

"Because I said so. Because I have magic powers and I know everything. Because... because whatever! Just make up a reason. We're going to the midway." Katie was too confused and terrified to actually argue the point any further. Her new friend, or whatever the hell this was, could be pretty scary when she wanted.

"You're probably right. Um, my sister really loves ring toss games." Katie laughed nervously and tagged along, beginning to wonder if maybe she shouldn't have just hunted down one of those first aid stations. They probably had some kind of rules for how to help lost kids. But this girl... she was magnetic, inescapable, she couldn't help but be pulled into orbit.

They stopped in front of a basketball free throw game, and Victoria passed a five to the attendant, then proceeded to successfully sink every shot. It had been flawless, an entertaining show to say the least. "Very good little girl you did it high scoooooreeeee..." droned the acne-faced teenager with all the enthusiasm he could possible muster. "Pick any prize you like..." Tori looked expectantly back at Katie, and she realized after a second or two that she was being asked to pick. She motioned bashfully to the large Hot Dog Man, and the attendant rolled his eyes because that meant fetching the hook-on-a-stick to get the damn thing down.

After some wrestling and wrangling, Katie found herself cuddling the slightly horrifying/slightly adorable Hot Dog Man doll-thing. "How did you do that? And... why are you giving him to me...?"

"What, the baskets? Oh, all-state girls' basketball, junior division champion." She beamed as they strolled along. "All the stuff here is super cheap. If I really wanted a stuffed animal I could just buy one. Well, I could make my daddy buy me one anyway. And we weren't having much luck finding your family, so I figured you could use a friend."

Katie bit back the desire to mention that she sort of already had one. Perhaps Tori really did just see her as a charity case. Once more she was dragged about, this time to one of the many food stands around the park where Tori purchased them a gigantic tub of popcorn and a pair of waters. There was a nice spot in the shade away from the crowds and they finally allowed themselves to collapse. "Here, you were crying, like, a lot. You're gonna need the water and the salt."

So they sat and watched people go by, still not really talking all that much about themselves. They still didn't know anything other than one anothers' nicknames, and that Tori played basketball. No, they weren't friends. Just two lost girls who found a tiny bit of solace in some company. Sometimes they would reach for popcorn simultaneously, hands brushing, and Katie would inevitably blush and fumble to pull away. Tori would get her handful, and then she would try again.

"Katie! Kaaaatiiieeeee!" Out of nowhere, Katie found herself tackled by a pair of tiny arms attached to her younger sister. She squealed and hugged her back tightly and looked up to see the rest of her family hurrying to catch up with the little cannonball.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so glad we finally found you~" Finally she released her hold on her sister and laughed brightly. "But where did all this food come from? I thought you were out of money?"

"That was Tori, she..." Katie looked around, but her temporary friend was gone, as was the Hot Dog Man she'd been given. "Um, I-I don't uh... Maybe she went to the bathroom..."

* * *

Max laughed loud and long, shaking her head and looking at Kate in disbelief. It was hard to believe that Kate had only been here a few hours and she'd already made a friend. Perhaps every now and then there really were decent people in this world. "So she took your stuffed animal and just bailed?"

"Well, you know, I had a long time to think about it. I had my family back, and she didn't. So she was all alone again. I'm glad she at least had Hot Dog Man to keep her company." She shrugged and hugged herself a little as she looked around at all the other students moving in. Classes would be starting soon, and before long it would be fall and cool weather and sweaters and so much tea.

That was when she saw it. Saw her. A tall girl. Piercing eyes, blonde hair, though significantly shorter now. She'd been moving in all day, and Kate hadn't caught her name yet. She was nearly done, it seemed, and had one last box she was lugging in, in somewhat of a hurry, as though she was embarrassed of what it contained. And on top of the messy pile of contents, Hot Dog Man. It would have been easy enough to assume that it was a different one. But it was old and raggedy, held together with weak sewing and even some duct tape. Even the most dedicated hands couldn't keep the ratty mustard on its chest. It was crap, the kind of thing you got at a carnival or...

She shot up to her feet. _"...T-Tori?"_


	5. Never Alone

**[A/N: Got another one for ya. Anon request for Kate in a coma being tended to by Victoria. I like to mash things up against canon, so it's post-suicide, where Kate still falls accidentally. This one is less sparkly happy fun-times, but I'm okay with that~]**

"I'm fine..."

"You're not fine, you're running yourself ragged and you have hella bags under your eyes!"

"But what if she wakes up? A-And there's no one here? I won't let her be alone. Never again."

"Max, you talked her down, and then caught her hand when she slipped and fell. Kate Marsh would be dead right now if it weren't for you! Even if you're not here, she'll be okay. Look, I'll take you back to your dorm and then come back and watch her myself while you sleep. I'm a degenerate with nothing but time on my hands... I might as well make myself useful for once!"

Victoria decided the fight probably wasn't going to end any time soon and finally broke the arguing girls' bubble with a knock at the door. "I could take a shift. If you want." Max and her weirdo friend just glared, and Victoria couldn't exactly blame them. But she wasn't doing this for them, and she wasn't doing this as some feeble attempt to turn over a new leaf exactly. Victoria was here for Kate, and for that she would put her own pride on the line if she had to. "...P-Please?"

The word itself wasn't a big deal, but clearly neither of them were expecting her to use it. Max's face softened immediately, Chloe's a moment later when she saw Max easing up. The hipster always had been scary good at reading situations and emotions. Victoria wasn't sure how she did it, but apparently Max's assurance was all that mattered. "You don't have to say anymore, Victoria, I get it. C'mon, Chlo."

"Just like that? She's the one tha-"

"Just. Like. That." It was like there was a whole other conversation happening beneath the one Victoria heard, and no doubt she was missing a detail or two. "We're going to the Two Whales. Maybe I'll... accidentally order an extra BLT or something. If I'm feeling... forgetful..."

They left, and the room was blissfully quiet. Finally Victoria was able to get a good look at the Christian girl on the bed, various parts of her body wrapped and covered in casts. It was a painful sight, made worse because as tactless as Chloe had been, yes, this was her fault. The scene from the front of the dorms played out across her mind on loop.

It looked like Kate was going to walk away, but the rain had slickened the surface of the roof. She twisted too hard, too fast. She had managed to catch the ledge with her hand, but only just. Max tried to pull her up, but the waif didn't have the kind of strength to do it, and Kate dropped anyway. She turned, ragdolled onto Samuel's cheap scaffolding, causing everyone to cry out in fear. She rolled and, only by a miracle, managed to hit grass instead of concrete.

A few different degrees, one wrong move, anything different and there was no way she would have survived. Even still, she would be in a wheelchair for a while, and her left hand probably wasn't going to be much good to her. Her right hand was blissfully marred by only a few small scratches. She would still have her art, and for that Victoria could breathe a sigh of thanks. And when she was ready and she took her seat, it also gave her something to hold onto.

The blonde placed herself in the uncomfortable hospital chair and took Kate's bandaged hand in both of her own and held it, just... watching for a while. Taking it all in. For perhaps the first time in her life, Victoria understood what consequences were. She didn't like them.

For a long time, she just sat there. Perhaps a few minutes, maybe as much as an hour. Victoria wondered if maybe she should say a prayer, but that felt wrong. She didn't care for god, and she was fairly certain god didn't care much for her either.

But she wanted to say something.

"You're an idiot, Kate Marsh. **Jesus** , Victoria, great lead-in. We don't..." She stopped and shut her eyes tight. "I don't hate you. I never did. You were perfect and happy and content with your life and I couldn't stand that. I didn't want to process how having everything actually meant nothing in the bigger picture. I saw you and hated myself. And... I guess I felt like you deserved to be punished for it. The perfect opportunity came along, and like an asshole I took it and ran with it. You wanna talk about sluts, you've got one sitting right here. A slut for attention, a slut for worship, a slut for Mr. Jefferson. All you did was make out with some people, and you can't even remember it..."

She tried in vain to swallow the lump in her throat. "There probably won't be any miracle change, not right away. I'll still be mean and bitchy, but... so help me I'll be mean and bitchy **for you**. I'll buy you the nicest wheelchair I can get, and so many crayons and colored pencils you won't know what to do with yourself. Fancy sketchbooks and comfy pillows and... I-I'll drive you to physical therapy and carry your bag when you have to walk on crutches. I'll shove jackasses out of your way when you go down the halls. I'll bring you tea so you don't have to get it yourself."

Her thumb slowly ran back and forth over the hills and valleys of Kate's knuckles. She hadn't actually brought herself to look at Kate's face more than once. All the bruises and the tube and...

"You have to be okay! You have to, because otherwise I'm the monster everyone says I am! And I'm not! I'm just fucked up and complacent in my little garbage heap. So you... y-you have to-to be okay..." Victoria sniffled, and just when she thought this moment couldn't get any worse, she felt an arm snake around her shoulders and pull her into a hug with Chloe Price. She begrudgingly accepted and buried her face in the shoulder, starting to cry in earnest now.

"I... brought you that accidental BLT you didn't ask for. And a diet Coke..."

* * *

The girls tried their hardest to get a rotation going, but Max and Chloe were also up to some kind of nonsense which meant Victoria spent quite a lot of time in Kate's hospital room. They'd brought some of her things from her dorm, and Alice was being taken care of by Max. It was the night of the big party, and here she was in a room that smelled far too clean, looking after a girl who, admittedly, probably didn't actually need anyone there. One hand held onto Kate, the other flicked idly through Kate's personal bible. "Blessed are the meek..."

"For they shall inherit the earth..." Victoria squeaked and the book fell to the floor, the hand tightening its grip slightly. "An angel...? Heaven is so bright..." Kate's voice was weak, faint, scratchy. But she was awake, speaking. Awake! Kate was awake! Victoria gave a cry of delight and wrapped her arms around her, but quickly withdrew when the girl in the bed hissed in pain.

"Sorry, shit, sorry, I just... You're okay. You're really okay. Kate, oh Kate Marsh! The only angel here is you!"

"Victoria?" Kate was, understandably, confused among other things. "Wha's'this...? Why are you crying? Did I do something wrong?"

Victoria giggled like a child and kissed Kate's hand tenderly. "No. No, you're just fine, Kate. You were... out for a few days. You fell. It was an accident. You got hurt but... but you're alive."

Kate seemed to be having trouble processing the situation, and Victoria knew she wasn't helping with her babbling. She shut her mouth and gave her some time to wake up properly and ask some more questions, fetching her water and holding her hand all the while. "I remember voices... I remember your voice. Calling me back. I thought I was delusional. But it was you... You and Max and that friend of hers..."

"You were never alone, Kate. We made sure someone was always here to look out for you. I even talked Taylor and Courtney into taking an hour shift so I could get a proper shower in earlier. But I'm... glad it was me. I'm glad you didn't wake up alone."

"Me too, Victoria. Me too..." For a girl who had just woken up from a coma, Kate was surprisingly tired, and she soon fell back asleep. Victoria tried to stay awake, but the gentle snoozing soon lulled her into a nap in the chair, no matter how uncomfortable it was.


	6. Even Angels Need Angels

Victoria yanked the phone from Courtney's hand, deleting the video and shoving it back into her hands with a kind of anger she only reserved for people who had truly fucked up. She wanted her lackey to understand that this was the epitome of fucking up. "You're all goddamn idiots, that is not the way someone behaves when they're drunk, not even a lightweight!" She rapidly yanked Kate back off a meathead football star and held her tightly. With a serious finger she motioned toward Kate's face, glaring at everyone. "I mean, Christ, look at her! She had, what, a glass of wine? I don't care how low her tolerance is, nobody starts suddenly frenching half a football team on a glass of wine! You're still legally allowed to drive, that's how little alcohol that is."

Victoria spun Kate around, causing the girl to erupt in bright giggles, nearly tumbling and falling to the floor. "Victoria! That's such a long name... Vic... Vicky... Tori. _Tori_! That's the one, it's super cute, just like you..." Victoria had to focus incredibly hard to ignore Kate's slight flirtation, instead peering into her eyes, trying to see... yep. This was bad. She'd been drugged, and pretty much everyone was a suspect, and as far as the blonde was concerned, everyone was guilty. All anybody would have to do was offer to give her a ride home and her life would be ruined – never mind those losers recording this like they were on some kind of reality show.

Kate could be a nuisance, but no one deserved this.

"Hey, you know what, you're right Victoria. Why don't I get her to the hospital?" Nathan was approaching with a smile that she knew in an instant was far from sincere. Had he seriously forgotten she knew him better than anyone? Victoria smacked his hand away and saw the mask fall off, revealing the angry ball of fury that always lay just beneath Nathan Prescott's surface. "What the fuck?"

"At this particular moment, I don't trust a single one of you people. I'm taking Kate back to my room so she can sleep off whatever this is in peace."

Taylor giggled brightly, rather drunk herself. "Oh my god, V, you just wanna get her alone so you ca-" Any further commentary was cut off by a slap that resounded across the entire party space.

She didn't have the energy to fight these people anymore and stormed out with Kate in tow. Nathan rushed after her, making one last desperate bid to stop her, though she had no idea why. "Victoria... Victoria, please, just let me take care of this. What if... something goes wrong and she needs a doctor? I really think I should get her to the hospital..."

Whatever subtle hints Nathan was attempting to drop, Victoria still didn't get it. "What she needs right now is to be away from people taking advantage of her like monsters! If something happens, then I'll call an ambulance like normal people do. Besides, that way, she won't be picked up from a party, right?" It was odd, how genuinely concerned her best friend looked, but not for Kate. It was almost like he was afraid of his own life or something. Callous though it was, she just didn't care right now.

Once she exited the party and got away from the pounding music, her head finally cleared and she was able to contemplate the results of her decision. There was a lot of social status riding on this decision, and if everyone decided she'd taken it too far, then she would be out on her ass all because of Kate Marsh. She stopped beside her car and looked at her again. "Tori? Are you mad at me? I'm really sorry, I didn't mean it, whatever I did... Um! I mostly kissed Bigfeets, but there were some Lady Otters I made out with too and they said I did alright. Would that make you happy?"

Her face flushed and she quickly unlocked her car, opening the passenger side and guiding Kate to sit down, buckling her seatbelt for her just in case. She moved wordlessly to get in behind the wheel and started pulling away back toward Blackwell. Her guest was already starting to fade and for that she was grateful. She wasn't exactly prepared to answer any further embarrassing questions Kate might come up with. Though it did pose a new problem, namely how she could get Kate inside. Victoria wasn't the strongest girl around, after all.

However, once the car was parked and she began helping Kate out of her seat, the girl stirred just enough that she could walk, provided Victoria kept an arm wrapped around her for support. Kate was still rather suggestible and willingly followed the blonde to her room. She felt a bit bad about that, but in this case it was for Kate's own good, and totally not selfish at all. It wasn't. Was it? Of course. Obviously.

As soon as the bed was close, Kate collapsed on it with zero concern for her well-being or her image. "Yer bed's much nicer'n mine, Tori. I sh'ld party more oft'n. Guess I could just steal yer stuff..." Victoria groaned and helped get the other girl back to a seated position, unsure if it was really safe for her to just pass out yet. Yes, she probably should have taken her to the hospital, but she was also terrified about this getting back to the school and ruining the entire Vortex Club.

"Oh, god, you smell like... well, like everything. You need to get out of those clothes..." Victoria could hardly believe the words coming out of her mouth. The look on Kate's face didn't make it any easier.

"I knew it! I kneeewwww iiiiitttttt, you just want me all for yourself. ...You won't smack me, though, will you? Like Taylor? You won't slap me will you? Please don't slap me..." God, she did look so cute, rapidly going from eager and amused to legitimately scared of punishment. Victoria really, truly was just trying to be a decent human being for once. And she knew this wasn't the real Kate anyways. It would be stupid to fall for her like this. Not that she was falling for her. But if it were to happen. Hypothetically.

"Shut up, I just don't want you stinking up all my sheets and blankets." She was trying to find her usual sharp edge, and it seemed to be working. Kate shut her mouth and finally complied as Victoria gently undressed her from her dowdy church-lady clothes and put her in some comfortable pajamas, then quickly changed her own clothes as well. She wasn't exactly tired, so she sat up, and watched as Kate immediately fell into a deep sleep in her lap. Carefully she drew a blanket around her and brushed a few strands of hair away from her face.

* * *

Kate woke up the next morning with a pounding headache, severe drymouth, and more than a few questions. She had gone to a party, and now she was waking up in someone else's bed, in someone else's clothes. That someone else turned out to be, of all people, Victoria Chase. And for that, she was oddly grateful. If anyone would be too disgusted by her to actually try anything, it was Victoria. The bed was cozy and warm and there was some water and aspirin on the bedside table. Victoria was across the room, on her computer, already dressed. "Hey there, sleepyhead. I hope you don't mind, I stole your phone and called your church just in case, told them you were sick."

Kate sat up, rubbing her eyes, and taking the meds. The water was gone in a single gulp before she was finally able to find her voice. It sounded crackly and broken. "What... happened?"

Victoria turned to look at her finally, and just before the usual sneer showed, there was a flash of... of something. Guilt or regret or maybe just worry. "Some jacka- Some jerk thought it would be funny to give you more than you could handle. I didn't know until after you'd drank it, but I managed to keep you from doing anything ridiculous." There was a lot of effort going into that angry face, and even Kate noticed it. "You owe me big time, Marsh."

Kate yawned, reached up to undo her hair from it's incredibly gross bun and giving a little stretch, completely missing the blush on Victoria's cheeks. "Just name it..." Unbeknownst to her, there was an entire list of possibilities passing through Victoria's mind at that exact moment.


	7. Tea for Two

**[A/N: Written for badpun on Tumblr]**

"I... wanted to know if you'd like to come get tea with me some time." Kate's face had been so red, redder than Victoria had ever seen before. She still wasn't sure exactly why she agreed to go.

Friday arrived without incident, other than the occasional look that passed between the two of them, and before she knew it Victoria was sitting on a couch in the local coffee shop with Kate Marsh. She sipped at her mint and lemon herbal tea, wondering what in the hell she was doing here. "So..."

Kate gave a soft giggle and sipped her own tea. "It's okay, Victoria, we don't really have to do anything you don't wanna do." She snuggled into her spot a little more, looking particularly cute in her late winter sweater. "We can just hang out, we don't even have to talk."

No talking. That sounded good. She stretched out slowly, her feet sliding along the couch until they were directly next to Kate. She wasn't shying away, which was kind of nice. Nine times out of ten, it was good to be the queen. But every now and then, it was so freeing to just be a girl.

And so for a while, it was nice, and calm, and there were no expectations, and Victoria really was enjoying her tea. Finally she found her voice. "So why _did_ you ask me on a tea date?"

She fiddled with her cross and seemed nervous about answering. "Because... I have to believe... that everyone is more than they seem. And maybe I thought you deserved the chance to prove it more than anyone..."

"Oh..." Victoria swallowed and nodded slowly. "You... I-I mean, really?"

Kate actually looked a little offended. "Of course! You're a human being, and just because you can be... not nice... sometimes..." She sighed and stopped herself, perhaps trying to reload. "Taylor, Courtney, Nathan, even Max. It's obvious how much you really care about people."

She reached up and nervously fiddled with her blonde hair. There was someone missing from that list. But she'd never really showed it before, so she couldn't blame her. "Um, is there a way I can request that we go back to silence, without sounding... _not nice_?" The other girl just nodded with an understanding smile.

In the natural course of time, they both finished their tea, but remained sitting there steadfastly. Slowly some of Victoria's strength returned to her and she let her hand slide over, interlocking fingers with the Christian girl. "Thank you, Kate. Very few people are willing to say nice things about me without expecting something in return."

If Kate had yanked her hand away at that moment, Victoria would have understood. She deserved it.

Instead, the hand squeezed, and she felt warmth spreading across her face.


	8. Giving Thanks

It was no secret that Kate was nervous about this weekend. Against all sense and reason Kate asked her girlfriend Victoria to join her and her family for Thanksgiving since the blonde's family was going to Milan. Against all reason and sense, Victoria said yes. So here they were now in Victoria's super-fancy car heading down the road toward the Marsh home, Kate was in the passenger seat hugging herself and rapidly tapping her foot against the floor of the car. "Sweetie, it's going to be fine. Your family has been calming down, yeah?" There was an implied 'ever since' in that statement. There was always an implied 'ever since' in their conversations.

Kate called it a miracle, Victoria called it common-fucking-sense. The poor Christian girl had been so close to the breaking point and then Jefferson had finally given her that last little push. Kate was already sobbing as she passed Victoria on her way toward the girl's dorm to do the unthinkable. Something in the blonde's mind turned over like a switch, and she grabbed Kate's arm. She might have freaked out but Kate's nerves were so frayed she didn't have the energy to yell at Victoria for touching her. The two of them opted to skip class so they could go to Victoria's room. Kate admitted where she was headed, and to her surprised Victoria began slipping out of her skirt and leggings to show a series of perfectly-straight scars running in parallel lines along her thighs where no one would ever see them.

Neither girl was capable of forgetting that moment. Kate spoke in a hushed voice and ran her fingertips along the scars, "they're beautiful..." Victoria sat on the bed and placed a hand against Kate's cheek, whispering just as softly, "you're beautiful..." They kissed, and it was only Kate Marsh's intense dedication that kept them from going any further. She was still in charge of the abstinence group, after all.

With Victoria's help, the two discovered the secret behind the video, and Kate found the confidence to tell the whole truth to her family. Her mother apologized and everything. Before long, the two were dating openly – or, well, mostly openly. Her family didn't know about Victoria yet. They only knew her as a friend who was helping their precious Katie, just like that sweet Maxine girl.

"It's just one day, a handful of hours, y'know. I'll be your best friend, and then when we get back to campus we can go back to normal."

She hugged herself a little tighter and looked over at her. "What if... m-maybe we could... Part of me wants to just tell them. I don't like lying."

"That's all up to you, Kate." Victoria laid a hand on her shoulder and immediately some of that anxiety drained away. It was almost like magic. "For me, today is all about you. I'm giving thanks for you. So if you decide you want to come out to your parents, I'm all for it. If not, I'm _still_ all for it."

It wasn't much farther to the Marsh family's modest house. By the time Victoria parked the car, her parents and sisters were already coming out to greet them. Somewhere in the older part of Victoria's mind there was a little eyeroll of disbelief at how picturesque this moment was. But then she processed that part of this was for her, and that made it much more difficult to be cynical.

"Katie, Katie!" cheered her sisters in unison as they launched forward and hugged her tight. Her parents stood aside with eager smiles as well. Kate was giggling and hugging her sisters back excitedly, and Victoria beamed at the entire situation. It was too precious to be anything other than touched. The girls weren't all that young but around their big sister it was as if they were kids again. "Are you two staying the night? You have to hang out and tell us all about school!"

The plan was a sort of general one. The girlfriends had brought some things with them just in case they spent another day or two. But if the situation got awkward, it wasn't that far to get back to school. And it was obvious Kate really did want to spend time with her family. The big 'If' all came down to Kate and Victoria's relationship and how they would react. Needless to say they were both anxious about it, so it was quite a shock when Kate moved to her side and placed an arm around her shoulder. "Guys, this is Victoria Chase, my girlfriend." The blonde's eyes went wide with fear and she looked toward Kate, trying desperately to mentally communicate a general 'what the fuck are you doing' feeling. She was proud of her, but the shock would take time to adjust to.

That had been an insane surprise, but she was even more shocked to be pulled into a tight group hug by the whole clan. And it seemed as though Kate was equally thrown off, but also relieved. And then she began to tear up a little, and Mr. and Mrs. Marsh "awww"ed in tandem, hugging tighter. "So... y-you're not mad?"

"Unfortunately, this isn't true for all parents, but I think I speak for both of us when I say that your happiness is the most important thing to us" her father said, obviously trying not to turn on his preacher-mode. The group hug finally broke up and the pair of girls stood there now holding hands lightly. "It sounds like that entire mess from early October really did a number on you, but now..."

"You've been so bright." Her mother picked up where her father left off. "You call us every week, and it's been this progressive experience. You call earlier and talk longer, you tell more and more stories. Most of them revolving around Victoria here. I'm ashamed to admit I owe your father five dollars for the bet we had going. I thought it was that Max person you were smitten with..."

Normally Victoria loved to see Kate blush, but just this once she felt bad for her girlfriend. The spotlight from her family was probably killing her inside a little bit. But as her significant other, she knew the spotlight would be on her soon enough – questions, inquisitions, interrogations, and more. It would all be friendly and well-meaning of course.

And it had been. And the food had been delicious. And the house was warm. And for a while, the two girls earned their well-deserved rest from the world. Kate and Tara helped cook while Victoria entertained Lynn with her fashion know-how. By the time the pair came in for food, they both looked impressively more well-dressed and made up.

After some insistence from Kate's parents and sisters, Victoria agreed to spend the night in the guest room. Knowing she would be spending the night, it was much easier to then convince her to join the family in sitting around a roaring fire. Little Lynn had taken quite a shine to Victoria and at some point she fell asleep in her lap while Tara was practically collapsing against Kate. Her parents had gone to bed some time ago and the two students from Blackwell gently linked hands and stared into the fire, sighing contentedly.


	9. Victoria's Secret

What does the girl who has everything get for the girl who wants nothing?

This is the conundrum Victoria Chase was pondering over and over again for the last two weeks. She could have bought Kate literally anything. A trip to Paris, a personal island, a gold statue, whatever. But no matter how many hints Victoria dropped, no matter how much fishing she did, Kate Beverly Marsh was the kind of girl who actually wanted nothing.

Sure, she longed for quiet and peace and love, but those were deep, intense emotions and things you couldn't buy or even create. Victoria was getting desperate, and when she got truly desperate, she always ended up turning to Lamefield.

Unfortunately, these days, that meant Price just had to be involved as well. So now she was stuck with the two of them in some dingy thrift store in bumble-fuck Arcadia. "You have nothing to be embarrassed about, Victoria."

"I dunno, she probably has lots to be embarrassed about..."

" _I mean_ she has no reason to think she's weird for not being able to find a gift for Kate. She's different, not like anyone else at Blackwell. You could totally give her anything and she'd be happy." Max fiddled with a gross sweater, holding it up to her body, and Victoria had to suppress the desire to gag at the thought of wearing anything from this place. "But you want it to be something appropriate."

"Yes, exactly, thank you Maxine."

"Duh, Blondie, you can't buy someone like her _Stuff_. She doesn't want stuff. She wants an experience." Max and Victoria both looked at Chloe in stunned silence. Chloe just shrugged and smirked. "What? You don't get hella pussy like me without knowing a few things."

Max's face burned and she slapped Chloe on the arm before turning all her attention on a nearby rack of clothes. Victoria begrudgingly nudged into her shoulder-to-shoulder before moving about to check on some books and things. "Thanks, Price. You're okay sometimes..."

* * *

The next day, Victoria found herself in an equally surprising place, in Alyssa's room talking to her and Stella. Although she and Kate had been dating for a while, these girls had known her for longer, and still weren't totally comfortable with the former bully and victim being together. But having come to them for advice, they seemed more gentle toward her. "You're right to be nervous, Christmas is Kate's favorite holiday."

"In like, the literal sense of the word, too," Stella interjected. Victoria likely looked confused because she smiled understandingly and continued, "Holiday just means 'holy day' and Kate is like... majorly into Christmas as the birth of Jesus and shit."

"Stella, you can't say Jesus and shit in the same sentence!" Alyssa cried, apparently not recognizing the error in repeating it.

"Anyway, you might want to go with her to a candlelight service on Christmas Eve or something. Base it around that. She'll dig it." Stella nodded and got this slightly dreamy look. "Christmas music and firelight and all. It'll be super romantic. In like... a god-y kinda way."

Victoria laughed and rubbed her arm nervously and gave a small laugh. "So I take it you guys are finally cool with us, y'know, dating?"

The pair tried their hardest to be grumpy, but seeing someone like Victoria try so hard to really impress Kate was heartwarming. "Go on, get outta here, you've got some Christmas fun to plan."

* * *

"Oh my god, Tori, you have nothing to worry about, this is so freaking cute I can hardly stand it!" It was something in Kate's influence that finally allowed Victoria to start treating Courtney and Taylor like real friends instead of servants. But just this once, considering the circumstances, they were letting her treat them like servants again. She and Courtney were standing outside Kate's room dressed in a conservative dress and a chauffeur's uniform respectively. Taylor was on standby at her parent's bay-house which was currently going otherwise unused.

Victoria finally knocked and Kate opened her door in all her Christmas Eve glory – pencil skirt, blouse, sweater, hair in a ponytail, gorgeous makeup, and that little gold cross. Stella and Alyssa weren't kidding, she went all out. The blonde tried to speak but her voice hitched for a moment. "K-Katie, are you all ready?" Kate, meanwhile, seemed surprised by Courtney's presence, with the fancy hat and gloves and all.

"Yeah, Victoria, all set." She stepped out into the dorm hallway and shut the door hesitantly. It was pretty clear she was suspicious, and thankfully Courtney was quick to cut in with an explanation.

"Never fear, Miss Marsh, I will be ferrying you and Miss Chase about this evening so that she can give you all her attention." The girl cheerfully doffed her hat and everything, and Victoria gave her an appreciative smile before taking Kate's hand and walking with her out toward the parking lot. Courtney got behind the wheel of Victoria's fancy car and the other two climbed in the back seat.

Kate nudged into Victoria as she snuggled in against her. "You don't let anyone drive your car. Ever. You don't have to do this..."

"Nonsense." To hear Kate talk about herself as though she wasn't worth it was blasphemy in Victoria Chase's mind. "I worked my butt off to pull all this stuff together, and I'm ready to watch you enjoy it all." She cupped her girlfriend's chin and pulled her in for a kiss. All the while Courtney drove them in silence, allowing herself a private little smile at the moment she was privy to. Victoria really was a big old softie. After pulling to a stop in front of the Chase's bay-house, Courtney quickly opened the door for the couple before slipping silently to the backside of the house to continue spying on the cuteness.

The door to the house was opened by Taylor, dressed in her own finest attire, hair in a tight bun. "Good evening! Miss Chase, Miss Marsh, we have you reserved table right over here." The trio had put a ton of work into making what was an otherwise plain-looking house seem intimate and romantic. This involved the careful placement of a ton of candles and various draperies. But judging by the soft cooing noise Kate made, it had worked.

Taylor led them to a table with a cloth covering it lit by a candelabra. Victoria pulled Kate's seat out for her and then took the spot across from her. "Tori, this is... You... A-All this...?" There was a kind of terrible pleasure the blonde got from seeing just how excited and touched her girlfriend was. "Dare I ask what's on the menu or the agenda for the rest of the evening?"

Taylor was pouring both of them a glass of wine with a puckish grin. "Your meal tonight has been prepared by a mystery chef who has asked that they remain anonymous."

Victoria was smiling too, from ear to ear, as she took her glass of wine and raised it, clinking against Kate's. "We'll enjoy a nice, leisurely dinner together, then go ice-skating. And one other surprise, but we'll get to that." She could see her date looking just a tad worried, so she took her hand and squeezed it softly. "With plenty of time left, I wouldn't dare keep you from the most important part of the day."

Taylor returned a moment later with their first course. Among the dishes served were salad, chicken, potatoes, some perfectly seasoned greens, and a bit of chocolate cake with raspberry cream. The two were feeling full and sluggish as their waitress for the night took away their dishes for cleaning. "Hey, Tori...? Can we maybe skip the skating and just hang out here and let the carbs digest?" It had been an insane amount of food for two people, so she couldn't say she was shocked by the request.

"Absolutely. There's a big, comfy bed upstairs. Make yourself at home, I'll be up in a bit." Victoria gave Kate a kiss on the cheek before turning her attention to the two peeping toms in the kitchen. "You heard her. Taylor, you and Courtney can head back, I think we're just going to stay here."

"Oh. We heard. You kids be good." It was obvious that Courtney was forcing herself to not make any Christmas puns with regards to virgins, babies, inns, etc.

Victoria blew out all but a few candles, the last of which she brought with her upstairs where she found her girlfriend relaxing in the big master bedroom. She was also noticeably less-dressed now, snuggled up under the covers, flipping through a leather-bound Bible. "I have never been more conflicted about being turned on than I have at this very moment, Kate."

"Oh!" The girl in the bed dropped the Bible in her lap and turned bright red. "...I um... Tonight has just been so... I thought that maybe..." God, she was so much cuter when she started stuttering. "So anyway I thought maybe you might want to join me here..." Victoria moved with agonizing slowness and a knowing smile, sitting on the edge of the bed to take off her shoes and hose and then slipping out of her dress, finally shifting under the covers with her. The candelabra sat on the table next to the bed, bathing both of them in glow and shadow.

This was new. Kate had never really shown an intimate side before, not like this. Victoria felt arms circle around her and Kate's head nestled against her chest. "You cooked that meal, didn't you. And the surprise, you were going to come with me to church. You... You talked to like... half our friends trying to figure out what to get me. Sorry, they were so excited, they couldn't help but tell me." Kate smiled, and it was impossible for Victoria to be angry about anything. "And you came up with all this? I don't want do that 'thing' again, but I guess maybe it's still hard for me to believe that I'm... worth it."

Victoria practically covered her face with kisses, stroking her hair lovingly. "You are more than worth it. I was worried this _still_ wouldn't be enough. And then you go and change my plans anyway. I love you, Kate Beverly Marsh..."

It was Kate who initiated things, surprisingly, as she hauled herself up and straddled Victoria on her knees, kissing her deeply on the lips. Hands began to investigate unexplored territory and clothes were moved aside, then removed entirely. When they had finished, the two snuggled up together with the Bible that Kate had found. She read aloud the story of Christmas, interjecting with the occasional carol. Victoria would sing along whenever she could, otherwise just snuggling up comfortably against Kate as she directed her own little midnight candlelight service.

Despite her best intentions, Victoria fell asleep. Kate beamed and kissed her forehead. "Merry Christmas, Tori~"


	10. Perfectly Imperfect

Kate sighed with relief as her hair finally began cooperating and allowed itself to be pulled into a bun. No longer the wild and messy kind from her youth, but the finely styled hair befitting a woman in her mid-twenties in a relationship with a new gallery-owner. After years of trying desperately to prove herself to her own parents, Victoria was finally allowed to open her own east coast branch of the Chase Space. Unlike the more prestigious Seattle parent-gallery, Chase Space II was a spot intended to highlight lesser-known artists.

Tonight was to be the grand opening party, and there were going to be some old friends present that she was dying to see. Most notably, Max Caulfield was going to be debuting some amazing new piece she'd done. Kate could only hope that they might get to hang out for longer than just a few hours. She wasn't sure she would ever properly be able to thank her for what happened back at Blackwell, and they hadn't spent time together in a few years, ever since Victoria brought her across the country to live in New York City.

"Babyyy? Are you still getting ready?" Victoria had been all nerves for weeks now, getting the gallery set up, but even for the blonde this had been over-the-top. Rushing all over the place, always on the phone, constantly talking to one artist or another.

Kate quickly slipped her precious cross necklace on and smoothed out her dress before walking out into the living room and wrapping her arms tightly around Victoria from behind. "Sweetie, we literally live right on top of the gallery." Even just a few years ago, Kate never would have imagined herself living in a huge apartment on top of a fancy photography gallery. But her childrens' book experienced a boom in popularity that added nicely to their combined income. Perhaps it was this "legitimacy as an author" that earned her some proper respect from the Chases.

"Everything is in place, the caterers are setting up as we speak, now is the time to take a deep breath and actually enjoy yourself." The blonde wriggled in her grasp but didn't pull away. This was one of her good old-fashioned tantrums and it would pass in time. Still, this was excessive, even for her. "Is everything okay?"

There was a very long pause before Victoria finally stilled and turned to wrap her arms around Kate in return. "It's that stupid mystery artist. I haven't heard from them in a few days. I don't even know if they're going to show up tonight!" Kate could hardly believe her ears. This wanna-be Banksy insisted on having their picture front and center in the Chase Space tonight, wanting this massive reveal, and now they were MIA?

"I know it's not ideal but... Half of the Blackwell class of 2013 is coming tonight. Just focus on how awesome it's going to be seeing all our friends again. And if this big important so-and-so actually shows up, well then that's doubly-awesome." Victoria was still very pouty, but seemed to be putting on a brave face for Kate. "Come on." She walked her girlfriend out of their apartment and down the stairs into the gallery abuzz with last-second preparations as caterers hurried to get out of the way. The two gave them their space and instead went outside to greet the small crowd of friends, colleagues, acquaintances, and more who immediately greeted them with loud cheering.

Kate was bright and excited, and to her surprise Victoria was practically trembling. She hooked their arms together and gave her a little kiss on the cheek. "Speak, Count, 'tis your cue."

Finally Tori uncurled and straightened herself upright. "Welcome, everyone! I am so amazed and honored to finally open Chase Space II to the public, and humbled to do so with all of you here. Come on inside and we'll get things underway!" There was more cheering as everyone entered the gallery proper.

As agreed, front and center was a large photograph covered by a sheet surrounded on all the other walls by works from independent artists from across the country. Kate's eyes immediately landed on the picture from Max, a sort of recreation-parody of _Washington Crossing the Delaware_ featuring Frank, his RV, a very grizzled Pompidou, Rachel, and Chloe with a Jolly Roger fluttering in the breeze. Now there was a strange little family that never failed to entertain. As if on cue, a pair of lanky arms enfolded her from behind and gave her a squeeze, eliciting a little squeak of surprise. "Marshmallow! I knew you couldn't help but stare at my beautiful visage."

Kate spun around and gave her a proper hug, marveling at how she looked with her natural hair, now grown past her shoulders, almost like a regular person if it weren't for the piercings and somewhat-visible neck tattoo. "You make a very handsome general, Miss Price. Or is it Miss Caulfield now? Miss Amber? Miss _Bowers_?"

She looked impressed with Kate's light playfulness and gave a little chuckle as she finally released her. "We're not actually married, dork. Just in spirit. It suits us."

"It really does. With Max the intrepid photojournalist, Chloe the tattoo artist, Rachel the model, and Frank the uh... vagabond, it must be quite the crew. You need the flexibility."

Chloe snickered and shrugged. "Not like you two. All famous and domestic and shit. It's good, you really earned it." She motioned to the veiled picture with her brows knitted together. "What's the deal with that?"

Kate could really only give a little shift of her shoulders, casting her eyes toward the oddity for a moment. "Some high-faluting pretentious ass wanted to be given the spotlight. But Victoria seems sure that it's a good way to bring in some extra attention. One of her schemes, I guess. She has a good sense for these things."

The rest of the evening went much the same way, swapping stories and updates with friends. It felt like an unofficial reunion as each new person showed up. Chloe was eventually joined by the rest of her family, Warren and Brooke turned up together much to Kate's relief, she got to spend some quality time Stella and Alyssa, and Victoria was back with her old circle. Even Nathan had finally managed to make his way out of all the shadows hovering over him and was in the midst of studying law.

Really, the only thing ruining the evening was the complete lack of the main event. It was an hour into the party and Kate could name every single person present. Either it was actually someone they knew, or they had been stood up. Judging by the look on Victoria's face, it was the latter. But in spite of that, she was moving forward with things anyway. Kate went to her side as Tori called everyone together, taking her hand and squeezing it gently.

"Excuse me everyone! I trust you've all had some time to chat and enjoy the delicious food provided by Alyssa's amazing catering company. I'd like to draw your attention to this work here, the one that I'm sure everyone has been puzzling over. I'm pleased to present... _Infinity_..." So she was still showing the work? Kate watched quizzically as the sheet was finally pulled back, noting that Victoria still looked very nervous and perhaps even... afraid? Well, this was definitely a big risk, she could understand that.

The image itself was, to her somewhat untrained eye, a very well-framed image of two rings laid against each other, forming a kind of figure eight pattern. From what little she had picked up from her girlfriend, the shadows and composition were all expert-level, emotive, and other big words that mostly meant it looked really nice.

The next thing to catch her eye was the name-plate below the work, which included the usual information, including the name of the artist. Her eyes flitted over it, and then Kate pulled a double-take and looked at it again more closely. It was a pseudonym. Kate knew it was a pseudonym because the name came from an anime, one of Victoria's guilty pleasure. In fact, the name in question was the main character of her favorite show. "...no..."

There was a serious hush over the room, and it was finally beginning to dawn on her that just maybe people weren't reacting to the photograph itself. Kate was vaguely aware that Victoria had shifted out of her peripheral vision and, perhaps a few seconds behind the rest of the crowd, she looked in her girlfriend's direction.

Her girlfriend. Victoria. Brave, confident, intelligent, sexy, unstoppable.

Her girlfriend. Down on one knee. In her outstretched hand, a small box containing the same two rings found in the print on the wall next to her. The trembling she had been displaying all evening was at an all-time high, and finally the pieces fell into place, and Kate understood all the secrecy and fear.

"Kat... Katherine... B-B-Beverly Marsh. I... You... We..." The blonde swallowed, eyes cast down at the floor. "Will you...?"

With tears brimming in her eyes, Kate sunk to the floor next to Victoria and held her tightly. The ring box fell beside them completely forgotten in the moment. The room remained silent and, still a few seconds behind, it occurred to Kate that she hadn't yet replied yet. "Yes. Yes! Of course!"

The applause that they had received for opening the Chase Space had been nothing in comparison to this marriage proposal. It was deafening, and she held Victoria all the tighter as it washed over them in a veritable wave.

It took some time for the noise and excitement to die down. Victoria finally managed to get back to her feet and get the rings back up and on their hands where they belonged. With an apologetic smile she gave a little bow to everyone. "Sorry for all the cloak and dagger everyone. I hope you don't mind being tricked into what was ostensibly an engagement party." She sniffled pathetically and wiped at her eye slightly. "Um. So. Thanks."

With the extra agenda finally revealed, the party went on a good while longer. Eventually the girls had to close the gallery, allowing a select few individuals to join them upstairs in the apartment for more drinks and some more intimate conversation. Eventually Max had to drag the last of them away to give the fiances some privacy.

Kate was sharing one more glass of wine with Victoria. No longer her girlfriend. Her future wife. There was a lot to be done, and she was eager for every last second of it. "There was supposed to be a whole speech, you know. The original version was, like, three pages long. I put it on my phone just in case I needed it. Go figure I wouldn't count on having a nervous breakdown and ruining the entire thing."

With the free hand that wasn't currently holding an over-filled glass of red wine, Kate idly toyed with Victoria's hair. "You didn't ruin anything, silly. If it had been perfect, that would have been just fine. But it got away from you, and you showed your real feelings because of it. I don't think I'll ever forget this night. It was perfect in its imperfections..." She sipped a bit more from her glass, feeling proud of herself for managing such a coherent idea considering the amount of wine and champagne she'd been drinking.

Victoria gave a bright laugh and practically smothered her with kisses. "Ever the poet, that's my Katie..." She suddenly flashed one of her old, wicked grins and kissed her a few more times. "My Katie. All mine."

She nuzzled back into her in exchange with a drunken giggle. "I'd marvel at how possessive you are, but it's not actually much of a surprise at this point." Her hand was withdrawn from Victoria's hair and their fingers intertwined. Her face fell again and her eyes began to water once more. "Woah, hey, it's alright. Everything is wonderful, yeah?"

The blonde nodded again and nestled in against her, setting aside her half-empty glass, apparently done with her drink for now. "More than wonderful. I... Y-You've met my parents. You know what I used to be like. I was afraid for so long that I would be stuck married to someone like Nathan, unhappy but trudging along with status as my only solace. For years I was sure that I would never be actually happy." Victoria sniffed again, and even Kate could feel herself tearing up. "I never expected my life to be turned upside down by a quiet little church mouse. I love you so much."

The happy little moment could have gone on forever and it would have been just fine. For a while, nothing existed in the world except the two of them. In time they would go to bed, they would wake up and continue their busy lives. But here and now, everything was perfectly imperfect.


	11. Cleansing

Victoria Chase found her thoughts wholly consumed by Kate Marsh.

It was a foreign sensation, seeing as usually she was constantly obsessed only with herself. A being of pure selfishness, she worried only about fashion and popularity and photography (generally her own). So empathy was confusing to her, to say the least.

She had just watched _The Video_ again, that damned video from Friday night. And somehow, something clicked in her mind, she saw it with outside eyes. She watched as a girl with dowdy clothes and an innocent demeanor kissed boy after boy. It wasn't done against her will, but neither was it necessarily natural. As if she were being piloted, or driven by animal instincts that she probably didn't even have.

Victoria had been there herself and yet now she couldn't believe what she was watching. How had she gone along with this? It was supposed to be a prank but now she just felt horrified. She had to do something, say something. She would talk to some of the nerds around school, god help her, try to get that video banned. Make her minions delete it. Whatever it took.

But for now, she had something more important to do. Even if it was late, she had to go see Kate, even if it meant waking her up. She moved her way through the dark hall to the girl's room and knocked gently. "Kate?" She paused, waiting for a response, or anything really. It was dead quiet. Victoria tried again, knocking a little louder now, but not wishing to wake up anyone else in the process. "Kate. It's Victoria. I'm coming in." It was rude, but in this case she felt like she was allowed, or at least was owed the impetus to do so.

She sort of expected the room to be dark, but this went beyond dark. This was depression in the form of a room. The covered mirror, the lack of lights, the blinds drawn. As she turned to the side and saw the girl just sitting there on the bed, staring into the middle distance, she gave a little jump, biting back a gasp. "Kate!" It was Sunday night and she was still wearing the same outfit she'd had on at the party on Friday.

This was no longer a prank gone wrong, this was a horror story. The poor thing moved like a sloth, her surprise taking a full three seconds to register. "Victoria?" Her voice was hoarse and quiet, not at all like her usual speech. "Here to finish the job?" The venom hurt, but Victoria also knew she deserved it. "I imagine you must have a great deal of new insults to hurl my way..."

It was a dangerous move, but Victoria summoned up all her posh strength and took a seat next to Kate as though it was where she belonged, looking her in the eyes. "No." She took a slow breath, desperate to retain her strength for now. "I'm here to check up on you. Because I was..." nope, she was already losing it. Fuck. "I-I was worried. And honestly? Now I'm even more worried. Have you been here since Friday night?"

"...Saturday morning..." Kate said, a statement that carried with it a great deal of terror – particularly with regards to Victoria's supposed best friend Nathan. She didn't have the strength of spirit to ask her for more details, even if she could get them. "I-I skipped church. I don't even do that wh-when I'm s-s-sick..."

Despite how dead to the world she seemed, now that she was engaging Kate in conversation all the cracks began to break further. And with them, Victoria's heart started to break too. What had she and her friends done to this girl, just for being herself? It was a travesty, and Victoria wouldn't stand for it a moment longer. With little tact she began moving around Kate's room, going through her things and meeting no resistance as she did so. With a towel, some underwear and sleep clothes, and shower materials in hand, she took the girl's wrist and dragged her from the darkened room to the bathroom.

"You're going to shower, and then sleep. You're going to skip your classes tomorrow and you're going to get better." Kate just gave her a kind of dumb look, and Victoria stood there holding all her things, rolling her eyes slightly. "Come on, you know how to shower, don't you?"

"What's the point...? It can't wash what I've done. What was done to me. Better to let my body match my soul, don't you think?" Kate glared now, something that Victoria had never seen her do before. "I suppose you wouldn't know too much about that though. Working so hard to make everyone think you're good by fooling them with..." She stopped herself and sighed. "S-Sorry. I didn't sleep so well. Look, you don't have to do this. I'll be fine in a few days."

Okay, bitch mode, round two. "I'm afraid that's not possible, Kate. I've looked the other way enough times already. And worse than that. So you're going to shower and get some rest even if I have to force you!" The approach, shockingly, worked and the other girl began to nod her head in embarrassment. Setting the rest of Kate's things down, she held out her hand expectantly. "Clothes." This was ridiculous, but Victoria was desperate to fix this situation, even if she had to be labeled an even bigger bitch in the process. She would take that hit if she had to.

But Kate was still resisting her, and in a last-ditch effort to just get this over with, she worked with slightly trembling hands to start undressing her manually. She met very little resistance again, except within herself. It wasn't helped by the realization that Kate actually was quite pretty under all that dowdy clothing and sad moping. This thought was shoved deep down in the back of her mind and she approached this like a nurse, helping Kate undress with as little shame as possible before directing her into the stall.

Even this wasn't enough to jump-start her, and before she really knew what was happening Victoria was even helping to turn on the water, getting it to the right temperature, before more or less pushing Kate in under the stream, removing her hair from it's bun. Of course, this wasn't really the optimal situation since she herself was still in her nice clothes that she wasn't interested in getting wet. The blonde moved over to the main bathroom door and locked it before turning back to where Kate was still standing there uselessly under the water. "If you're going to continue to be difficult, then I'm going to have to join you. Will that be a problem?"

"No ma'am." Was that sarcasm? Kate really _had_ been hit harder than anyone realized.

Her hands shook even more than before as she took off her own clothing and put it safely to the side. She really hadn't expected things to go this way when she walked out of her room to check on Kate. But desperate times had called for desperate measures. It was late and she was tired and explicit thought really wasn't factoring into this any longer. All she knew was that soon enough she was making her way through the curtain with Kate's shower things, blushing like a maniac. This was just to help Kate get cleaned up, that was all. Nothing more. Certainly nothing to do with thoughts she had had moments before about how attractive Kate could be.

With a gentle touch she guided her under the water, running her fingers through Kate's hair, finding that it was quite disgusting and would require a great deal of care. If only she had thought ahead and brought her own shampoo and conditioner as well! Still, it was really too late now. She would have to make do.

For a while, she merely worked in silence as Kate seemed to adjust to this bizarre ritual. In time she actually began to allow Victoria closer to her. "If this is a trick, I have to admit, I truly don't understand where this is going." The blonde smirked to herself and began to actually wash Kate's body gently with one of those little scrunchy things.

"That's because it's not. Even someone as devious as me could never possibly work this to her advantage. This..." She paused, running the scrubber along her arm as she felt the honesty settling over her. "This is my attempt to make amends. No, not even that... to _begin_ to make amends. You're a good person, Kate Marsh. You deserve to feel like something other than horrible."

Whatever she'd just said, something about it seemed to finally penetrate the barrier of fog in Kate's mind and she actually cracked a small smile. "You know you could have just said sorry..." It also inevitably occurred to her what situation she had found herself in and she turned her back on Victoria, blushing heavily. "Not that I don't appreciate what you're doing here. Y-You can head back now, I think I'm present enough to do this."

It was a moment of pure ego and emotion, something that Victoria tried so hard to keep from doing. She moved forward and closed the gap between them, the scrubber moving along Kate's stomach, causing her arm to wrap around her midsection in the process. "A Chase finishes what she begins, Kate."

"Oh. O-Okay..." Despite the change in tone, the washing remained relatively chaste. Any time Victoria's hands cleaned a place that hands had never touched before, she was always shockingly fast and gentle. This was intimate but not actually sensual, which Kate was finding herself to be kind of okay with. The most enjoyable part, as it turned out, was not what she might have feared. Instead, it was when Victoria broke out out the shampoo and began lathering and washing her hair. She might have foolishly called it 'lovingly'. She knew she had a lot of hair to tend to and it could be difficult to work with. But her tormentor was taking special care to take care of every last strand.

"I never thought I would be so jealous of you, but your hair is amazing... You know, I could give you some stuff, it'll fluff this right up, give it all kinds of life. Make you look like a goddess..." She felt herself starting to blush as well now as she tried that again. "Or, you know, something less blasphemous..."

Her spirit was lifting and she was practically in a trance at the moment, barely even registering the odd statement. It got to the point that she didn't fully notice that the shower had come to an end and that she was being dried off and made to dress in something a little less 'worn for a full 48 hours'-y. Victoria used the blanket to cover herself and walked with Kate back down the hallway, and it wasn't until she was sitting on a foreign bed that she knew she'd ended up in a room other than her own. While she sat there and Victoria dressed, she tried to understand why she was here.

Seemingly reading her mind, the blonde settled in next to her wearing amazingly plain pajamas. "I don't mean to be rude, but... your mirror. That's... I-It's a red flag. So I'm sorry, but I can't leave you by yourself. If you don't exactly like the idea of bunking here, then I'll convince Caulfield or maybe Dana or somebody to watch over you. I'm not budging on this."

Kate shook her head and flumped back onto the pillows behind her. She already proved she didn't have the energy to clean or dress herself. Even on her best day she didn't have what it took to argue with Victoria, less so now. She curled up, facing toward the wall, and soon arms wrapped around her once again as they lightly snuggled under the covers. It was a few minutes of staring at the off-white surface before she finally found her voice one last time. "Hey... Victoria...?"

"Mmm?"

"...thank you..."


	12. Security Blanket

Kate approached Victoria's dorm room excitedly.

A month ago this would have felt like insanity. The thought of walking to this door and knocking would have made her terrified. But after... stuff... back in October, the two had actually become kinda decent friends. Sort of. It was still really tentative sometimes, and the rest of the Vortex Club wasn't nearly as apologetic as Victoria. But it was far better than having the girl constantly prodding her verbally, making her life hell.

However, upon slipping through the door without knocking first, she found herself somewhat less excited. She might have been prepared for Victoria getting changed, or being pissed off and angry about something. She was not prepared to see her sitting on her bed weeping softly. "O-Oh! Victoria, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... Um, I-I can come back. Do you want me to get Taylor or Courtney?"

"No!" The response was sudden and desperate, catching Kate off-guard. "I mean, I'd prefer having you here. You're quiet. Shit, I meant that like a compliment. The others would constantly ask me what's wrong and if I need something, and then I'll yell at them to give me some space, and then no one will be happy. Bu-But you're okay with silence. I need that right now."

It took some coaxing, but Kate was encouraged to sit down next to Victoria on her bed. From her new vantage point, she could see a single sheet of paper on her lap. Her instinct actually _was_ to ask the other girl about what it was, but given what she'd just been told, it seemed best to just sit there beside her, gently rubbing her shoulder. Kate was surprised to find that Victoria really did remain silent for a good fifteen minutes before speaking up.

"I uh... I decided to send some of my better pieces to a couple galleries. I figured if nothing else it might be good for me to experience a bit of failure, try and grow from it, build character, all that schmaltzy crap..." Kate couldn't help but smile a little at that. Victoria was actively seeking out trouble like that? Maybe she really was growing up. "I also sent a couple to my parents' gallery. I thought, you know, even if they turned me down, they might be able to give me some legitimate advice."

A glance at the letter in her lap told Kate that this was not what had happened. But what could be so bad that Victoria would be crying alone in her room? Finally the paper was passed to her, and Kate glanced over it slowly. "Oh my goodness. A form letter?"

"No personalization, no recognition that I'm their goddamn daughter! Oh, um, sorry Kate, i-it just kinda slipped out."

Victoria had definitely become more considerate lately. Kate blushed a little, no doubt showing some surprise on her face. "I-It's okay, seems like pretty much everyone swears. I've sorta gotten used to it..."

"Well. Um, so I called them, and they basically confirmed for me that they were being massive jerks instead of my parents. My dad was all 'Victoria sweetie, you're an artist now, and we're going to treat you as such. We'll not baby you with nepotism' and stuff like that... He made it sound like I was asking them to put my photos front and center! I just... wanted some professional criticism." Victoria sniffled softly, and Kate felt somewhat at a loss. She really didn't have any kind words that would fit this situation, except perhaps that she knew what it was like to have a parent who didn't understand you.

But then it hit her, and she hopped up from the bed excitedly. "Um, just wait here for a second, I'll be right back, I promise!" Before Victoria could even get a word in, she was off across the hall and back in a flash with the only cure-all she could think of – the massive quilt she had inherited from her mother. She draped it over Victoria's shoulders, dwarfing her quite a bit. The thing was large enough that it could probably have wrapped around her multiple times if she really felt like it. "I got this from my mom, and she got it from her mom, and so on, back quite a few generations. It's well-worn but filled with all the love and peace we can possibly give it. It's one of my favorite security items... I want you to borrow it for as long as you need." She smiled sweetly, then watched in wonder as Victoria opened up one side of the blanket-cloak with a little head-nod.

She must have hesitated longer than she realized, because Victoria was starting to get that little scrunchy-faced look of frustration. "Come on, I need all the good vibes I can get, and this thing is way too massive for just one person..." Victoria didn't exactly blush often, not like this, and something about it struck Kate rather powerfully. Was mousy little Kate Marsh actually making the invincible Miss Chase blush like that? Of course she couldn't exactly turn her down now!

With an awkward lack of practice, Kate climbed onto the bed right next to Victoria and felt both the arm and quilt wrap around her shoulders. Her head just kind of naturally sunk in against her shoulder and the two returned to a blissful silence. She actually started to lose track of time, and she had no clue how long it was before Victoria spoke again. "...thanks for all this, Kate. You've somehow managed to be even sweeter than I thought you were capable of..." There was another pause, as it seemed like she wasn't quite done talking yet, though this time was a bit more awkward. "...does it um... does the quilt come with its owner?"

What? Kate lifted her head up from its spot on her shoulder and she stared, baffled, at the girl and her vicious blush. "I don't... huh?" The blonde groaned and buried her face in her free hand. She mumbled something, but Kate couldn't quite piece it together. "It's okay, just... just talk to me when you're-"

"I was trying to hit on you, okay!? I like being snuggled up with you under this quilt and I like being quiet and comfy with you and I... like you! Alright? As long as I'm going for failure, I might as well aim across the board, right. So please, shoot me down and make this horrible day into a real chart-topper."

There was another prolonged silence, though Kate wished she could have reacted faster. But she was finding it very difficult to process the idea that someone so fabulous and talented and popular was turned into a regular teenager by... well, by someone so different. Fears of all kinds flashed through her head, of being ostracized by her church and disowned by her family and hated by all Victoria's friends and suitors.

But against all the buzzing in her mind, she somehow managed to fight through the haze and lean up, planting a gentle kiss to her cheek. "Even if I'm an abstinent, Christian weirdo?"

Almost instantly Victoria returned the kiss – to her lips – passionately. It went on for a while, until the two of them were practically horizontal, burritoed in the warm blanket. Eventually the kiss had to end, if only so they could both get some air. They lay there staring at each other, both blushing like maniacs, gasping slightly. Victoria's hand was resting against her cheek and she was looking like her old, confident self again. " **Especially** because you're an abstinent, Christian weirdo..."


	13. Visiting Hours

**C/N: Warning: This is not fluff. I am mad at myself for writing this. You've been warned.**

 **Based on an OTP prompt given to me by Saraiguma**

"You know what? I know everyone has such amazing things to say about you. The amazing Kate Marsh. But you're a bitch, a cold-hearted fucking asshole and I'm the only one who's willing to say so!"

Kate was stone-faced and silent as ever. She had been, since... Well.

Victoria huffed, expecting some kind of reply. Stupid, but every now and then she was dumb enough to have a fragment of hope buried somewhere beneath that thick sheet of ice. "Selfish, and idiotic. Jump..." The ice began to crack and she sniffed pathetically. "Jumping. And leaving all those people... behind..."

The small bits of tears forming at the corners of her eyes were beginning to actually fall now. "Max... Stella and Alyssa... Warren and Brooke... M-M-Me..." It had become sobbing now, and she was grateful it was just the two of them. If anyone would understand, it was the amazing Kate Marsh. "We were supposed to do th-the usual teenage girl stuff. Fight and then bond and shit." She sighed, wiping at her tear-stained cheeks. "Sorry, I know you're not fond of _language_."

She paused and surveyed the landscape around them one more time, waiting for something, anything. A word, a smile, whatever. No such luck. "Anyway, I got this for you. You don't have to get me anything in return. I mean obviously. Since... well. Anyway. You know."

Victoria set the bouquet of multicolored roses down on the patch of ground in front of the headstone and started her return trip to Blackwell, hoping to remove any signs of her dreaded emotions before anyone could see them.


	14. Cookie Monster (Lesley Gore Was Right)

Victoria sat on the couch with the thumping music and strobing lights serving only to annoy her rather than delight her. How sad, to be the birthday girl at your own birthday party and yet feel utterly miserable. How did that song go? It's my party and I'll cry if I want to? Well, not that she was crying or anything! What kind of wimp got misty-eyed just because someone wasn't around. No matter how many people bought her drinks or offered to dance, whether it was Taylor or Courtney or Dana or Juliet or Nathan. All these fabulous people, and the one person that Victoria kinda wanted to see wouldn't be within a mile of this stupid club.

It had been dumb to invite Kate out to the party. She wasn't much of a party girl before, and when everything came out about that Vortex Club party back in October, it was basically impossible to get her to do anything. Even if they were almost sort of kind of friends, it was pretty much a herculean task. No matter how much she begged and pleaded, regardless of how much she actually really liked Kate.

But no amount of reasoning was going to get her out of this pouty, rich-girl funk now. She left to a chorus of cooing drunk friends and confused partiers. She didn't even bother to give them a decent response, she just... left. Things were quiet back at the dorm and it was much easier to think. She washed all her makeup off in the bathroom, then returned to her room to get into some comfy PJs, collapsing on her couch to watch some dumb anime to make herself feel better.

At least that was the plan until she heard a knock at her door. "Dammit, I'm not going back, I'm happier h-" She opened the door, immediately regretting getting hostile. Because standing there was all that was good and pure in this world, Kate Marsh, equally dressed down in her own pajamas. Victoria's face fell for a moment before erupting in a bright smile. "Kate~ I... wasn't sure I would get a chance to see you tonight."

Kate gave a little laugh and produced a perfectly wrapped present, something cylindrical and wide. "I wasn't sure I would see you either. I wanted to see if I could get this to you before midnight... Just to keep it official and everything." Victoria could see that she was bouncing slightly on her feet, as cute as ever. "Open it open it!"

"Um, well, come on in." Victoria normally didn't like people seeing her in her pajamas with her hair slightly messed up and her makeup nowhere to be found. But if anyone would be fine with it, it was Kate. If she was lucky, the girl might not even mind that she was watching a garbage Japanese cartoon. The two got comfortable on her couch and Victoria pulled away the wrapping paper, refusing to ruin such a wonderful job. Inside was a big tin for cookies. It might have been exciting enough if the contents were store-bought, but she pried back the lid and was immediately hit with the smell of freshly baked goodness. For a moment, Victoria could only stare at the contents, then at Kate, then back at the contents in disbelief. "Um, Kate, this is..."

Kate seemed to sense that she was at a loss for words and just smiled warmly at her. "Well... Max mentioned that once you stole some cookies from her room and it became a thing. And Chloe let me use the kitchen at her house to bake them. There's uh... chocolate chip, peanut butter with M&Ms, white chocolate cranberry macadamia, and rocky road." Stupidly, tears filled Victoria's eyes, immediately causing Kate to freak out. "Um! But if there's something I'm missing or that I messed up, I-I'd be happy to re-bake something!"

Even crying softly, all Victoria could really do was cover the tin back up and set it aside before throwing her arms around Kate and hugging her tightly. "Nooo, Katie, you did an amazing job. I-I just... I'm an idiot, that's all."

Now she could feel Kate's hand gently stroking her hair and it was everything she wanted for her birthday. "Why are you an idiot? What happened?"

"I-I-I... I knew it was stupid to think you might show up at the party. But I kept hoping you would anyway. And all I wanted to do was just come back to the dorms anyway. So if I had just... stayed here like I wanted, I could have avoided all that stupid drama and we could have sat around and shared cookies instead!" She hadn't really meant to be honest, but the alcohol she'd drunk made sure that it flowed without halting.

But then Kate had to go and say the sweetest thing yet. "It's not that late. We can still do that. Come on, show me what you were watching, it looks cute." The girl gently guided her to sit up, brushing away her tears and moving Victoria over to her bed where they could better relax and enjoy the show from extreme comfort. The blonde still wasn't sure how to deal with the fact that this was happening, or the fact that Kate of all people was the one initiating it.

Through bites of cookie, Victoria did her best to explain the plot of the anime to poor Kate, but with each passing episode that she described, she realized just how stupid and ridiculous the show was. "I can put on something a little easier to digest, if you want."

Kate yawned and was suddenly burrowing into Victoria's pillows. "Nah, it's okay, I'm following along well enough." Well... no point in not taking the oh-so-subtle hint here. Victoria carefully returned the lid to the cookie tin and placed it aside before joining Kate in getting more comfy in her bed.

The next morning, she wasn't particularly surprised to find crumbs in her bed. She was slightly more surprised to find Kate in it, however.


	15. SuperKate and Miss Chase

[Just a silly little Supergirl AU. It's not the most involved thing ever, so even if you've never seen the show, you'll probably enjoy this.]

"Kate, I realize there is something awful about the fact that I'm the one telling you this. But you have got to work on your make-up skills." Max was right, she wasn't exactly on top of her make-up game either, but that didn't mean she didn't have a point. "I know to me and Chloe it looks like you had a successful day saving the world, but to everyone else you just have a mysterious black eye."

Kate smoothed out her pencil skirt and sighed before pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose, wincing slightly as she pushed them slightly too hard and brushed her injury. "You know how clumsy I am! I can just tell people I walked into a door!"

"Unless you want everyone to think you have a vicious boyfriend, you will absolutely not do that!" Max pushed up to sit on Kate's desk and shook her head. "And you just know Victoria Chase is going to have a conniption fit – even if she doesn't assume the worst, she'll think her assistant doesn't know how to use concealer. Just... I know she doesn't look it, but what Chloe lacks in traditional beauty tips, she more than makes up for it by knowing how to hide bruises and scars from a mosh pit, not to mention all that time trailing around behind Supes over in Metropolis. Go see her, she'll clear this right up!"

Kate began to pout, but it seemed fruitless. Max was pushing her toward Chloe's office – an act that she technically could have stopped at any time, but that was beside the point. Kate might have been the Girl of Steel but Max Caulfield had an iron will.

As promised, Chloe was an ace, and Kate was pleased to look in the mirror and see almost no hint of her battle scar. "There ya go, Marshmallow. And just in time too, it's almost ni-"

"Katie!"

All three of them rolled their eyes. No matter how many times she had tried to clarify to the woman that it was _Kate_ not _Katie_ , she seemingly ignored the request and kept right on using the nickname that Kate had worked hard at not hearing since ninth grade.

Then again, it was kind of nice to have someone give her a pet name. Well, besides Chloe and Max. Someone who wasn't a friend. More than a friend? Less than a friend? Something... else? Well, that was a complicated and confusing subject for another day.

Miss Chase was already in her office, coffee-less. And that was a sin. She hurried as fast as she could without appearing super-human to bring the woman her coffee. Victoria glared at her with an icy stare as she took it and sipped it. "Still hot, despite your lolly gagging." That sounded almost like a compliment. It was not. Kate had been at this long enough to know the difference.

"I'm sorry, Miss Chase, I was meeting with Chloe about... those uh... photos. Plus I had to check in with Max about our upcoming server overhaul." Awful. An awful lie that Victoria saw right through in an instant. Surprising, then, that she was willing to let it slide without pointing it out. Kate had grown accustomed to taking her blessings when she could get them.

Instead, she just deflected. "Max. Which one is he?"

"Wh-? Um, Maxine? Our IT lead? Sits ten feet away from me?"

"Maxine! Yes of course! Wonderful, keep up the good work. Staff check-in, five minutes." She was already looking on some new project, giving her a dismissive hand-wave. Again, Kate was willing to take any small victory she could get.

* * *

The rest of the day was shockingly tame. For all the frustration that Victoria had initially shown her, the woman backed off just as quick. That could have been good news, but... Miss Chase didn't back off. She was a bull dog, like any good reporter. And that meant that Kate was on edge for hours. Eventually the other shoe would drop.

"Katie~!" Unlike before, her voice was... sweeter. Softer. That was also new. That was also worrying.

She hurried into her office. It was early evening and most everyone was gone. Victoria Chase had since retired to her more casual side as she took one last look over some materials for the website. "Need a second pair of eyes, Miss Chase?"

Her boss smiled at her, that scary feline smile, like a predator having something nasty in mind for its prey. "No, just your usually sunny self. Please, take a seat." Kate did as she was asked while Miss Chase stretched out and made herself more at home. And then she just... studied her. Perhaps only a moment, perhaps half an hour. Slowly Victoria leaned in, licking her thumb and wiping at Kate's face, right around her eye where her marvelous bruise was. She instantly recoiled and winced, hissing through her teeth lightly. "Right then. Time for a serious conversation."

Kate could feel herself following her natural inclination to curl in on herself. "It's just... um... door. Frame. Doorframe. Clumsy."

Victoria pouted at her obvious cover, and Kate had to devote numerous mental resources to not thinking how cute that was. This was scary. She had to be scared. She was scared. "Please, there really is no need to-"

"Katie! I have spent my life devoted to the philosophy that women must be strong. And sometimes, being strong means admitting when we need help. You are..." She sighed dramatically and looked toward her office doors, as if checking that no one was looking in on them. "I... have never had a better assistant than you. And I will not sit idly by while you are in trouble. If you need a place to go or..."

Just as suddenly, she stopped speaking and resumed staring at Kate. Puzzling, sorting, collating, analyzing. Kate might almost have been able to live with her boss thinking she'd been hurt or abused by a loved one. But if Victoria Chase was employing her full skill-set, then there was a minuscule chance that she would come to a particular, dangerous conclusion. Ever silent, Miss Chase leaned forward and, without asking, tugged Kate's hair out of its bun, letting her mane of hair flow free. She tugged her glasses from her face, folded them and set them aside before glancing back at her. "Last night, our dear savior Supergirl took a very vicious right hook. Right to the face. And when she was seen leaving the battleground, she was sporting a bruise."

Very few things made Kate feel positively frozen with fear, but Victoria Chase had that effect. Now more than ever, staring her down, not breaking eye contact for a second. Her boss' hand snaked forward, nesting itself in her hair, twirling a few stands around her finger. "R-Really, Miss Chase, you're chasing wild geese here. I'm just your assistant, Kate. Half the women here could look like Supergirl if you gave them a make-over!"

"Hm. Katie. You make a good point." Suddenly Victoria's hold on her was released and she was sauntering out to the patio with the faintest little hip-wiggle. By the time Kate managed to hurry after her, Miss Chase was already out and sitting on the precarious railing that circled the balcony. "I suppose there is no time like the present to properly test out my theory. Ciao!"

Victoria was over the edge and heading for the pavement and Kate didn't exactly have time to think. She wasn't in her 'uniform' and if anyone saw what she was about to do, she would be hosed. But Miss Chase was plummeting and the only way to save her boss was to swallow her pride. Kate hurtled herself over the ledge after her, the wind rushing past her, the sound of Victoria crying out as she started to realize that this was legitimate danger she had put herself in.

That tone changed somewhat when Kate finally swooped up under Victoria, catching her with one arm beneath her knees, the other around her waist. As much as she would have adored hovering there with a beautiful woman in her grasp for a while longer, she needed to get back to the balcony. She expected Victoria to hop out of her arms the moment her feet touched down. Instead, her boss stayed right where she was, arm draped along Kate's shoulders. Her free hand came up and started to brush away some tears that she didn't even realize she'd been crying. "My poor Katie. What could you possibly have to be sad about? You saved me, like I knew you would."

Late to her own party and finally catching up that the moment made her a bit hyper-emotional, Kate gave a very unheroic sniffle. "I uh... hesitated. I _never_ hesitate. But I-I was so scared of revealing myself that I stopped for just a moment."

"Ohh~ You always doubt yourself, no matter which hat you're wearing. We need to work on that." Miss Chase had just thrown herself from the top of a building, but you wouldn't know it by looking at her. Sturdy as ever. "But I think for now, there are other things we need to focus on."

Kate's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Yes, I mean, obviously we need to talk about anonymity and secrecy... and... Well obviously some boundaries and... and Supergirl can't be on call all the time and..." Her rambling and mumbling was swiftly cut off by a sudden and powerful kiss. Victoria's hand was holding her with a surprising amount of gentleness, avoiding her bruise while still holding her steady. Kate began to get the impression that this could very well go on for quite some time. It wouldn't be their first all-nighter, but it _would_ be the first of this breed. And frankly, Kate welcomed it.

Unfortunately, Rao saw fit to play a trick on her as Chloe burst out on the balcony already mid-sentence. "-shots, so we're gonna hit up the Arcadia, are you down Marshmall-?" And just as suddenly she stopped and stared. She would likely have continued staring if Max weren't already dragging her away. Unlike her girlfriend, she had no interest in prying or asking too many questions. Kate would fill them in, all in good time.

The two broke their kiss just enough, to the point their lips still brushed together, laughing softly. "You told those two morons before you told me? I'm insulted. You'll have to do a lot of work to make up for this."

Kate nodded. "Yes, Miss Chase." Their lips were back together instantly in a magnetized kiss that promised to go on for at least five minutes.


	16. The Way You Look

Victoria knew that it had been kind of a hugely stupid thing to do.

It started simply enough, with a series of progressively more massive apologies – once in the hospital, again when Kate returned to school, again while visiting Kate in her dorm. It became almost a joke between them, Kate would say 'hello' and Victoria would say 'sorry' and they would both giggle. They were, she was hesitant to admit, something resembling friends.

That was when things well and truly changed. It happened in fits and starts. She would pass Kate in the hall late at night or early in the morning with her face bare and her hair undone. Initially, the thought was a familiar one – wishing she looked half so good when going natural. When their entire floor had a movie night, the two of them ended up sitting next to one another, thighs touching (which was in no way enjoyable or caused her to think anything inappropriate). In class, she would glance across the room at her whenever there was a lull. And there was always a lull, because they still had yet to find a teacher who could replace Jefferson, which meant that now they just had a kind of general study period.

Honestly, it had gotten pathetic, and she knew that sooner or later it was going to blow up in her face.

When Kate showed up at her room, knocking on the door jamb and smiling warmly (if a bit strained), somehow Victoria knew this was the moment. "Hey, Tori, do you have a sec? Do you mind if I shut the door?"

"Uh, yeah, go ahead." She turned around in her desk chair and watched Kate carefully as the girl took a seat on her couch with a heavy sigh. "What's the matter?"

Kate looked like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. "I need to confess something to you Victoria. I've seen the way you... you look at me when you think I don't notice. But I haven't said anything because I..." The girl on her couch began to gnaw on her lower lip, and since it was clear that Victoria had been found out, she couldn't help staring even now.

"I know, it's really awkward. How does the good christian girl say 'no thanks' in this scenario without hurting my gay little heart? I get that."

Kate said nothing for a while, her face growing more red. "That's not what I meant." If Victoria was correct, she actually looked to be pouting now. "I was going to say that I never brought it up because... I like having someone look at me... like that. And then Max informed me very unsubtly that there are things better than just being looked at, and said I should come talk to you..."

This was kind of a massive shock. Victoria had already assumed she would simply have to go to hell after spending the rest of her days only getting to look at her friend from afar. She never would have expected this, never would have imagined herself carefully treading across her room to sit on her shitty futon-couch with the girl she tormented, the girl she loved.

"I suppose we could give such a novel concept a try."


	17. Don't You Ever

It was incredibly disturbing to wake up in a foreign bed in a foreign room with hazy memories and a body wracked with pain. "Victoria Chase, don't you ever do that to me again. You could have died." Kate. Dear sweet Kate. You could tell how furious she was. She never yelled. She just spoke in that voice, soft as silk and hard as iron. You could also tell how terrified she was by how much her voice trembled.

It came back to her slowly. The two of them had gotten into a fight – hell, barely a fight, just a heated discussion really. Kate wanted to talk about what they would do after they graduated from college: get married, buy a house, start a family, all that stuff. And Victoria really wasn't prepared for the conversation. Ultimately, she got overwhelmed by her nerves and she went off into the night, leaving their apartment through the pouring rain, climbing into her car to go driving, clear her head.

Bad weather and a headful of steam were a bad combination behind the wheel. Had Victoria run a red light? Or maybe she had just been blindsided by a drunk asshole. She honestly couldn't recall yet. And now here she was, in the hospital, with Kate looking like she might break out in sobs any moment. "Sorry, Marshmallow. That was really stupid of me." She groaned, trying and failing to sit up. Kate used a firm hand to keep her pressed back into her pillow. She spied a cast on her right leg and a wrap on her left hand. Damn. "I... ugh... I was just so freaked out talking about that stuff and I... just ran. You deserve better."

Finally her face started to soften. "I didn't sleep a wink last night. I didn't even know what had happened to you until your mother deigned to call and tell me. I rushed over right away."

Victoria closed her eyes and focused on the feeling of Kate's hand holding her own. It was tough to concentrate through the pain and the meds. "Well... when we get married, primary visitation rights will be all yours." Kate gasped and squeezed her hand, though Victoria was sure she would much rather have squealed and wrapped her up in a tight hug.


End file.
